Tuesday, February 9, 2021

North Korea Upgraded Nuclear Missile Program in 2020, Says UN Diplomats - Tasnim News Agency

(Tasnim) – North Korea maintained and developed its nuclear and ballistic missile programs throughout 2020 in violation of international sanctions, said a UN diplomat with knowledge of a confidential report given to Security Council members on Monday.

The report by independent sanctions monitors said Pyongyang “produced fissile material, maintained nuclear facilities and upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure”, and continued to seek technology for those programs from abroad, The Guardian reported.

The annual report to the Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee comes just weeks after the US president, Joe Biden, took office. A state department representative said on Monday the administration planned a new approach to North Korea that includes a full review with allies “on ongoing pressure options and the potential for any future diplomacy”.

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and former US president Donald Trump met three times in 2018 and 2019, but failed to make progress on US calls for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and North Korea’s demands for an end to sanctions.

According to the diplomat, the report said in the past year North Korea displayed new short-range, medium-range, submarine-launched and intercontinental ballistic missile systems at military parades.

While there were no nuclear or ballistic missile tests in 2020, Pyongyang “announced preparation for testing and production of new ballistic missile warheads and development of tactical nuclear weapons”.

North Korea’s UN mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

North Korea has been subjected to UN sanctions since 2006. They have been strengthened by the 15-member Security Council over the years in a bid to cut off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs...

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